The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-05-06
AN OPERA MANAGERS FIX.
Carl Rosa Relates How He Nearly Had
to Close His Theatre.
From Stage "reminiscences.

From Stage "reminiscences.
OF recent disagreeable experiences l recol-
lect one night at Her Maje5ty's in 1882.
had produced "Tannhauser," and for the
third performance of it Mr.. Gladstone, who
was at that time in power, had notified his
intention to be present | was sitting down
to dinner when a messenger arrived at my
residence, saying that Schott, the represent
ative of the title role, had suddenly col
lapsed and could not sing. No greyhound
ever jumped up quicker than from my re-
! past. Putting a cigar i'll my mouth instead
| of food | drove down to the theatre, where
my managerial eye met what at other
times would have been a glorious sight. The
colonnade before the theatre was packed
with people, ready for the double event,
'Tannhauser" and Gladstone. But alas!
they were going to be disappointed in both
respects. In the afternoon l had received a
communication informing me that Mr..
Gladstone could not be present, having been
summoned to Windsor
When | arrived at the stage door great
CONSERVATION prevailed | had on my jour
ney down already telegraphed to most of
my artistes to come Immediately to the
theatre | had determined to change to
Mariana" l knew that as Burns
and Ludwig were in the ''Tannhau
sern cast, / had my mariana" and Don
Jose;" but a quite unexpected difficulty pre-
scented itself When l looked for the mas
ter carpenter and his principal assistant l
found them in perfect state of intoxica-
ton, lying on the floor in the cellar, and no
gentle persuasion nor stern treatment would
persuade them to change the scenery. By
this time it was the hour for opening.
Written bills were posted on the pay-boX
that Mariana" would be substituted; for
mariana" | must give, though at that
moment heaven only knew where my don
Cesare" and "Lazarillo" were to come from.
The first man appearing was Davies. the
tenor. ''You must sing Don Cesarep" II
don't know it, "Can you not get through
the first actT II might" ''Try, and go
down and dress" Miss Yorke was second
to arrive, and / had my ''Lazarillon My
friend Randegger, although he had never
conducted the opera, consented to do so
until my sub-conductor had returned from
home in evening dress and up went the
curtain. But what about the scenery? Well,
we pulled the ''Venus scene" off and played
the first act in Thuringia with the Wart-
burg in sight, instead of in a Spanish mar
ket-place; the second act in a chamber close
at hand instead of in a prison; and the
third act in the grand hall at the Wartburg
instead of in Spanish interior
But my troubles were not over. | soon
discovered that, in spite of the best inten-
tions, Davies would not get through the
opera, and my eye watched at the stage
door as Wellington spied for Butcher at the
battle of Waterloo. Well, Butcher came in
the shape of Turner, who lived a good dis
tance off, and had induced an express train
to stop and let him out at one of the sta
lions running into town. He dressed and
released Davies in the middle of the first act
to the great establishment of the audience,
and Pew did the same for Randegger |
did not shut the theatre, but it was as mar
row an escape of doing SO as any manager
ever had